Ecologist Eric Berlow doesn’t feel overwhelmed when faced with complex systems. He knows that more information can lead to a better, simpler solution. Illustrating the tips and tricks for breaking down big issues, he distills an overwhelming infographic on U.S. strategy in Afghanistan to a few elementary points. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in […]
Aaron Huey’s effort to photograph poverty in America led him to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the struggle of the native Lakota people compelled him to refocus. Five years of work later, his haunting photos intertwine with a shocking history lesson in this bold, courageous talk from TEDxDU. (Recorded at TEDxDU, September 2010 in […]
Civil wars and ethnic conflicts have brought the world incredible suffering, but Stefan Wolff’s figures show that, in the last 20 years, their number has steadily decreased. He extracts critical lessons from Northern Ireland, Liberia, Timor and more to show that leadership, diplomacy and institutional design are our three most effective weapons in waging peace. […]
Designer Emily Pilloton moved to rural Bertie County, in North Carolina, to engage in a bold experiment of design-led community transformation. She’s teaching a design-build class called Studio H that engages high schoolers’ minds and bodies while bringing smart design and new opportunities to the poorest county in the state. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July […]
What does it take to make an everyday object — say, a toaster — from scratch? And does anyone know how to make it, all the way from mining for iron ore to plugging it into the electric grid? Those are the questions designer Thomas Thwaites sought to answer when he engaged in the Toaster […]
Musical innovator Andrew Bird winds together his trademark violin technique with xylophone, vocals and sophisticated electronic looping. Add in his uncanny ability to whistle anything, and he becomes a riveting one-man orchestra. (Recorded at TED2010, February 2010 in Long Beach, California. Duration: 19:20) [ted id=1001] Watch Andrew Bird’s performance on TED.com where you can download […]
In the quest to map the brain, many scientists have attempted the incredibly daunting task of recording the activity of each neuron. Gero Miesenboeck works backward — manipulating specific neurons to figure out exactly what they do, through a series of stunning experiments that reengineer the way fruit flies percieve light. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, […]
Watch the video above to get a feeling for the vibe of TEDWomen — and find many of the talks in this video inside a new Theme on TED.com: Women Reshaping the World.
Oceanographer Greg Stone tells the story of how he helped the Republic of Kiribati create an enormous protected area in the middle of the Pacific — protecting fish, sealife and the island nation itself. (Recorded aboard Mission Blue Voyage, April 2010 in Galapagos, Ecuador. Duration: 17:15) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuCtZJGcEMU] While TED.com is down today — find this […]
TED.com is going offline today, Wednesday, Nov. 3, at noon EDT for about 6 hours. We’re upgrading some back-end software that will make it easier for us to add new features down the line. But we respect that some of you will need your TED fix during that time. A couple of suggestions: YouTube. Every […]
David Bismark demos a new system for voting that contains a simple, verifiable way to prevent fraud and miscounting — while keeping each person’s vote secret. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, England. Duration: 7:03) [ted id=997] Watch David Bismark’s talk on TED.com where you can download it, rate it, comment on it […]
Big Business is often blamed for the environmental and social ills that we are faced with today. But these speakers suggest that a business with a conscience can also provide solutions to the world’s biggest problems. Melinda Gates says foundations and nonprofits can learn important lessons from big business — to turn honorable intentions into […]
Using animation, projections and her own moving shadow, Miwa Matreyek performs a gorgeous, meditative piece about inner and outer discovery. Take a quiet 10 minutes and dive in. With music from Anna Oxygen, Mirah, Caroline Lufkin and Mileece. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, England. Duration: 11:12) [ted id=995] Watch Miwa Matreyek’s performance […]
At TEDxTelAviv, Shimon Steinberg looks at the difference between pests and bugs — and makes the case for using good bugs to fight bad bugs, avoiding chemicals in our quest for perfect produce. (Recorded at TEDxTelAviv, April 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Duration: 15:24) [ted id=994] Watch Shimon Steinberg’s talk on TED.com where you can […]
Chef Barton Seaver presents a modern dilemma: Seafood is one of our healthier protein options, but overfishing is desperately harming our oceans. He suggests a simple way to keep fish on the dinner table that includes every mom’s favorite adage — “Eat your vegetables!” (Recorded on the Mission Blue Voyage, April 2010 on the National […]
Historian and diplomat Joseph Nye gives us the 30,000-foot view of the shifts in power between China and the US, and the global implications as economic, political and “soft” power shifts and moves around the globe. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, England. Duration: 18:16) [ted id=992] Watch Joseph Nye’s talk on TED.com […]